This invention relates to the detection of corona discharges; and more particularly, to a system for detecting corona discharges, recording data relating to the detected discharges and the playing back of the recorded data.
When corona discharge occurs in any electrical system, the system is generally damaged such that further deterioration of the system is generally inevitable. If the operator of an electrical system is aware that a corona discharge has taken place somewhere in the electrical system and is aware of the exact location of any such a discharge, he can make a physical inspection of the system at that point to determine the extent of any damage caused by the corona discharge and make any necessary repairs. If no repairs are deemed necessary at the time, this area of the system would be closely monitored for further deterioration so that repairs can be made before a failure occurs. Thus, knowledge of corona discharges and knowledge of the location of such discharges in an electrical system enables an operator of the system to take corrective action to prevent failure of the electrical system due to damage caused by corona discharge. Generally, one wants to avoid unexpected failures in any electrical system, particularly in systems such as electrical utility power systems. High voltage transmission lines of utility power systems are often subjected to corona discharges and failure of the transmission line system can and often does occur due to corona discharge damage. Obviously, unexpected failures must be guarded against in an electrical power transmission system.
Various systems have been developed for detecting corona discharge in an electrical system. However, a need exists in the art for a detection system that not only detects corona discharges with a high degree of accuracy but also pinpoints the location of the discharge and provides a record of both the occurrence and the location of the discharge. This invention meets this need in that the system of this invention detects corona discharge with a high degree of accuracy in the presence of other disturbances, records corona discharge data along with audio and geographic data and provides a playback system to playback the recorded data.